JP's First-Class Sim

Andrew Strauss
Mark Butcher (c)
Younus Khan
Mark Ramprakash
Paul Collingwood
Brad Haddin (wk)
Dwayne Bravo (5)
Morne Morkel (2)
Ishant Sharma (1)
Ajantha Mendis (4)
Chris Martin (3)

I'll go for default for all my batsmen, but I'll have Mendis at 6, Shrama and Morkel at 9, with Martin and Bravo at 7. I'll bowl if I win the toss and can I have level 4  wicket please with level 3 bounce and a level 1 outfield


Edited by slogger72N/O - 28 February 2009 at 4:03pm

My team will be playing at aggression level 8.

Dravid : Should be an even contest.

Rahul Dravid, the former India skipper and the KKR vice-captain spoke to the press just before the start of what is anticipated to be a gruelling battle.

Repeorter : How is the teams preparations ahead of the first test ?
Dravid : The preparations are excellent. We have got some extra time to prepare which has helped us.

Rep : Your thoughts on the delayed start?
RD : Its helped us in a way. We got more time to spend together and get the team going together as a unit. It gave us time to understand each other's game a but more. The fact that we had arrived before meant that we got extra time to get used to the conditions as well.

Rep : Is the green pitch going to be a problem?
RD : Not at all. We have very good batsmen. The pitch will be helpful for the bowlers but at the same time its got good bounce and the outfield is quite fast. The initial period with the new ball is going to be tricky but once the sun really comes down it should be a great batting surface.

Rep : Your recent form has not been great although you got a hundred in your last test. What have you to say about your own form?
RD : That hundred gave me a lot more confidence. I never lost trust in my ability. When you play for so long you are bound to go through bad patches. I hope that hundred has put an end to it. I am looking forward to a new begining in the new year.

Rep : Playing as deputy under Ganguly again. How does it feel?
RD : Fantastic. We know what Sourav's done for Indian cricket and I have enjoyed playing under him. We have played together since the under 15's so we know each other really well. I am looking forward to playing under his captaincy again.

Rep : You will play your home matches in the Eden Gardens. Don't you feel it would have been better had your home ground  been the M.A.Chinnaswamy?
RD : Look, I am playing for Kolkata and not for Bangalore. I am very excited at the fact that I'll be playing at the Eden again. Its a fantastic gournd and the crowd of Kolkata are just mad for cricket. (Adds laughing..) If you look at my records I play better at the Eden than in my home ground.

He signed off with a smile and giving thumbs up to the public..


Edited by dips_december - 28 February 2009 at 9:29am

How do you feel about the delay now befor ethe first game?

It is a positive thing as it gives us more time train and we have been looking at the decisions we made for the previous test.

Edited by robbie - 28 February 2009 at 12:18pm

So then, only Spinny to put his team in, and it shouldn't be too long before he comes online I reckon.

Originally posted by The Tyke So then, only Spinny to put his team in, and it shouldn't be too long before he comes online I reckon.   I think everybody's done well to get their orders in so quickly after this mishap.

Sounds good to me. It means we get the matches started as well.

Well, I've run the matches, and there were some thrilling matches. I'll post a new topic when I've uploaded everything...

Press Release:

Although it's a great offer, I only have 1 spinner in my squad, so you'd have to offer me a spinner in return for me to consider the deal